Gameplay is similar to previous Lego games in the series. The game uses the same two player drop in drop out co-op mechanics, used in all the Lego games. This is the fourth Lego game to support the two player splitscreen (the first three being Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues, Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 and Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars). There are 20 story levels in the whole game, for 5 levels in each movie. Players collect Lego studs, which have been the Lego games currency used in every Lego game. Like other titles, these studs can be used to unlock characters, extras, and different Pirate ships.

New Features:

The hub in this game will be Port Royale. From here, players advance through the game, unlock characters and extras, and as players get further through the game, The Port will evolve and get bigger, revealing new areas to unlock and discover new things. Like past titles, different characters will have different abilities. For example, Captain Jack has the ability to use his compass, which points him to whatever his heart desires, (this in the game being the next part of the level). Will Turner has the ability to throw axes at targets to accomplish certain objectives, while Elizabeth Swan has the ability to jump higher than other characters, and get to areas unreachable to other characters. Another feature is the ability to swim. Normal human characters will have an oxygen bar, and as this runs out, it determines how long they can stay underwater for before they die. However, certain characters such as zombies do not have an oxygen bar when underwater, meaning they can stay underwater for as long as they like without dying.